The brief farce finally came to an end.
The arrival of Medea and Atalanta naturally did not make the chaos worse; at most they gave Jason a fright.
Neither of them thought too deeply about it. They had long grown used to finding three goddesses in Jason's room.
"Lady Hecate!"
Medea happily called out and ran to Hecate.
Hecate, however, suddenly found it a little hard to meet her eyes…
Two more people had squeezed into the already tiny room.
The room was now filled with "fragrance of flowers and song of birds." Even setting aside the goddesses, the newly arrived Medea and Atalanta were both stunning beauties capable of making fish drown and geese fall from the sky.
Thus, the sea goddess Thetis, as a mere onlooker, swept her gaze across the circle and could not help casting a rather strange look at Jason.
At last, Jason could no longer bear it.
With Medea and Atalanta providing cover, he seized the chance to finally escape the room.
Not long after slipping out quietly, Jason spotted Chiron talking with the Ship Spirit.
When Chiron saw Jason approaching, he looked him up and down and chuckled. "Looks like you managed to escape from hell."
"Hell?"
Jason blinked, then glanced darkly at the Ship Spirit beside Chiron. "What nonsense are you spouting… hurry and go take good care of them!"
"Yes, Master Jason." The Ship Spirit playfully stuck out her tongue at him, then obediently went inside.
Once she left, Jason turned to speak to Chiron.
"Shh…" Chiron placed a finger to his lips and smiled at Jason. "We can't talk about that topic here, can we?
Besides, I don't want to be resented by them."
Though the Ship Spirit had not told Chiron the details, he had already guessed most of it: just what kind of "hell" was inside.
"Teacher, you've changed. You won't even listen to my complaints anymore!"
Jason pouted.
Chiron said nothing, only smiled, turned, and left rather quickly.
Though the enormous Argo was crowded with people, Jason felt strangely empty and a little cold today.
Fortunately, the second half of the night passed without incident.
When the first ray of dawn fell upon Jason standing on deck, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had finally dodged the bullet.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered, covering the azure sky from which the stars were gradually fading.
Before Jason could react, a colossal wave rose in the distant sea.
The wave surged forward, giving neither Jason nor the Argo any time to respond. In the moment Jason's eyes widened, it swallowed the Argo and dragged it into the depths!
Seeing this, Jason instinctively held his breath and closed his eyes.
While his mind raced trying to figure out what was happening, the expected crushing pressure of seawater never came.
Instead, a somewhat familiar silvery peal of laughter rang by his ear: the voice of the Sea Queen Amphitrite.
Jason opened his eyes and was greeted by the beautiful world beneath the sea.
Not a single drop of water had entered the Argo.
At some point, a deep-blue crystal orb (the Heart of the Deep Sea) floated high above the ship.
Under its power, an enormous air bubble enveloped the Argo, protecting it in the deep ocean.
The Ship Spirit, the doll-like big sister, sensed something wrong and instantly appeared beside Jason.
"Master Jason, this is…"
"This is a gift from the great ones of Olympus to you, my child."
While both Jason and the Ship Spirit were puzzled, Amphitrite's voice sounded in Jason's ear.
"You have already completed all the trials, so now it is time for us to send you home… Oh, right, little Jason, from today onward I'm entrusting my little sister Thetis to you. You have to treat her well, okay~ Heehee!"
Her words carried a laugh of ambiguous meaning.
The next instant, an invisible force pushed the Argo forward through the deep sea.
Soon, more and more people emerged from below deck.
After all, anyone looking out their window would see all sorts of strange fish flashing past; plenty of people were startled.
Facing this divine miracle, they exclaimed in surprise and began loudly discussing it.
"With you around, things really are lively no matter when it is."
Just then, Atalanta, who had appeared beside him without his notice, suddenly spoke next to his ear.
"This… this really can't be blamed on me, can it?"
Jason gave a wry smile.
"By the way, Atalanta, have they left?"
Atalanta did not answer, because in the next second Athena appeared before Jason.
"They actually discussed sending you back behind my back."
Athena instantly understood the situation and lightly raised a brow.
She tilted her head in thought, then shook it. "But I suppose this works too… The matter of the Golden Fleece should indeed come to an end. I have already given you my gift. Only the matter of Medusa remains…
I had originally planned to have you lead the heroes of the Argo to subjugate her."
"Medusa?"
Jason blinked, the name sounding vaguely familiar.
Athena glanced at him, then smiled beautifully. "It's nothing."
Before Jason could react, Athena vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Lady Athena, Goddess of Wisdom… really does dote on you," Atalanta could not help remarking after Athena left.
Because even she could tell that Athena still had something for the great hero in white (no, now the great hero Jason) to finish.
"Yeah, she dotes on me quite a lot…" Jason replied expressionlessly, rolling his eyes at Atalanta.
While he was inwardly muttered the name "Medusa" in puzzlement,
"There is a legend that at the edge of the ocean lies an island called the Shapeless Island.
On that island, two goddesses, Stheno and Euryale, are imprisoned by a monster: the snake-haired demon Medusa who can petrify any enemy with her gaze!"
Chiron, who had walked over at some point, provided the explanation.
Hearing this, Atalanta tilted her head. "Have I heard this story somewhere before…? It feels strangely familiar."
"Right, I remember now! There was indeed such a legend, but in the end that monster was slain by a hero named Perseus, wasn't it?
And that was many years ago!"
Jason also reacted at this moment.
He might have needed a moment to recall the name Medusa, but the instant he heard "monster that turns people to stone," he remembered immediately.
After all, this was an extraordinarily famous myth, in no way inferior to the tale of the Golden Fleece or the heroes of the Argo.
"The revival potion… If no accident had occurred, she should have been the tribute I offered to Lady Athena."
At the same time, Jason instantly understood what Athena had been thinking and could not help giving a wry smile.
It seemed he would have to find time to deal with that matter… After all, Lady Athena had invested so much effort; she definitely would not let it drop.
While Jason was thinking this,
Chiron looked at him for a moment, thought, then suddenly continued, "But in truth, that is not what happened. Legends are only legends.
The truth is that the goddesses were never imprisoned; they stay on that island of their own will because… the three of them are actually sisters.
The one called the monster Medusa is no monster. She was merely cursed and transformed into one. So more accurately, Medusa is… a goddess."
Jason froze and looked at Chiron.
"And the one who cursed her was none other… than the Goddess of Wisdom Athena herself."
"…Teacher, why are you telling me this?"
A helpless expression appeared on Jason's face.
"Because I hope you will make the right judgment. You are a hero, and you have made me, and everyone aboard this ship, understand what it truly means to be called a hero."
Chiron smiled gently at Jason.
"Aren't you afraid Lady Athena will blame you?"
"She will not blame me, because…"
Because right now, she would never do anything that might make you dislike her.
Chiron did not finish the sentence, but Jason understood perfectly.
Their conversation ended there.
Afterward, this wondrous underwater voyage became the final tale of the heroes of the Argo.
The sacred Argo sailed through the sea; all manner of marvelous marine creatures appeared before the heroes' eyes.
They beheld countless beautiful sights, even genuine mermaids, and by Amphitrite's arrangement were honored guests in the palace of a sea god.
That same day, Amphitrite also visited Thetis privately and spoke with her alone, quietly telling her that matter.
When Thetis learned of it, she… did not leave the Argo.
In the days that followed, Jason noticed that whenever Thetis's eyes met his, her face would flush and she would seem extremely shy.
Though Jason found it odd, he did not think too deeply about it.
Little did he expect that while he and the heroes of the Argo were enjoying this final wondrous underwater journey,
In certain places, certain people had already… completely exploded!